With a high-resolution 3-megapixel imager, multiple AVCCAM recording formats, DV support, and enhanced professional functions, the HMC81 delivers the full benefits of AVCCAM for schools, event videographers, government facilities, web designers and corporate users who prefer to work with a shoulder-mount camera and need flexible connectivity and format support. The camera, utilising a professional 3-chip imager, can also take 10.6-megapixel still images and store them as standard JPEGs on the solid state card. AVCHD recordings and stills can be directly played back from the SD card on a wide range of low-cost players including Panasonic Blu-ray players, laptop PCs and game consoles.

Using just one 32GB SDHC memory card, a user can record three hours of full resolution 1920×1080 video and audio in PH mode, four hours at HA mode and 5.3 hours at HG mode. In the HE mode, the camera can record up to 12 hours of 1440 x 1080 HD content on a 32GB SDHC card. Up to 2 hours of DV content can be recorded on a single 32GB SDHC card.

For the first time in an AVCCAM shoulder-mount, the HMC81 includes such high-end professional features as a user-assignable manual focus ring functions (Focus/Iris/Zoom) for added control; time code/UB recording; time/date stamp; and two wired remote control terminals (for zoom, focus, iris, REC start/stop controls). The camcorder’s lens system captures super sharp images at up to 12X optical zoom and features a 40.8mm (35mm lens equivalent) wide-angle setting. It also offers users useful functions including Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) for smooth stable shooting, Dynamic Range Stretch (DRS), which helps compensate for wide variations in lighting, and a Cine-Like Gamma mode that gives recordings a more film-like look.